Nicholas Muzyczka, PhD
Authors: Kenneth I. Berns, Barry J. Byrne, Terence R. Flotte, R. Jude Samulski, Arun Srivastava
Journal: Molecular Therapy (2023)

Dr. Nicholas Muzyczka, a world-renowned scientist, virologist, mentor, teacher, and beloved colleague, passed away peacefully at the age of 76 at home in Cocoa, Florida, on January 6, 2023, after a prolonged battle with cancer. Nick was born on February 11, 1947, in Germany, where his parents, the late John Muzyczka and Stefania Lawro Muzyczka, were brought as forced labor from Ukraine during World War II. After the war, the Muzyczka family lived in refugee camps until they immigrated to the US when Nick was 3 years old. The family settled in New Jersey, where Nick attended elementary school and high school. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Antioch College in Ohio and his PhD degree in biochemistry in 1973 from the laboratory of Maurice J. Bessman in the Department of Biology at Johns Hopkins University. He carried out his postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate, Daniel Nathans, in the Department of Microbiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1977, Nick was recruited to the University of Florida, where he rose to the rank of associate professor. In 1983, Nick moved to the Department of Microbiology, State University of New York, Stony Brook Medical School. However, he was recruited back to the University of Florida in 1994 as the American Cancer Society Edward R. Koger Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. Nick was also the founding director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center at the University of Florida. Nick was not only a world-class scientist but also an exemplary teacher and mentor. He published more than 160 scientific papers by delineating various aspects of the basic molecular biology of SV40 and AAV, developing the first SV40 vector in 19801Muzyczka N. Construction of an SV40-derived cloning vector.Gene. 1980; 11: 63-77https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1119(80)90087-6Crossref PubMed Scopus (5) Google Scholar and creating the first AAV vector in 1984.2Hermonat P.L. Muzyczka N. Use of adeno-associated virus as a mammalian DNA cloning vector: transduction of neomycin resistance into mammalian tissue culture cells.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 1984; 81: 6466-6470https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.81.20.6466Crossref PubMed Scopus (369) Google Scholar These seminal discoveries launched the field of molecular medicine using gene therapy and facilitated a major investment in biotechnology. In 1999, Nick co-founded an AAV gene therapy company, Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, focused on gene therapy of retinal diseases. In 2017, Nick co-founded a second AAV gene therapy company, Lacerta Therapeutics, which is developing gene therapies for central nervous system and lysosomal storage diseases. Nick retired in 2017 but continued as professor emeritus and eminent scholar in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Nick was recognized numerous times for his many scientific achievements. These included the University of Florida Excellence in Basic Research Award in 2000, University of Florida Eminent Scholar for Cancer Research in 2009, Ophthalmology Innovation Source Innovator Award in 2014, and Florida Innovators Hall of Fame Award in 2016. Nick is survived by his two daughters, Katherine Muzyczka and Zoe Muzyczka; his sister, Genya Muzyczka; his three grandsons, James, Benjamin, and Alexander Lenhart; and his great granddaughter, Ronny Nicole Marie Pfister. Rest in peace, Nick.